Friday, November 26, 2010

Top Twenty-Fives

I have exactly 2 weeks left in Zwedru. It's finally hit me that I am leaving soon. This has stirred up a lot of feelings that I am just now able to begin sorting through. I've started the process by making a list of what I will most most about Zwedru (in an attempt to remind myself not to take the day to day things for granted in my last days here) and a list of what I can't wait to get home to (in an attempt to not take these things for granted once I get home!).

Top 25 things I am going to miss about Zwedru (in no particular order)…
1. Food. Pepper soup, palm butter, potato greens, cassava leaf, papaya, acheke, fried plantains, sweet potatoes with pepper stew on top, fufu, jollof rice!!
2. The feeling of my mouth being on fire after eating the above foods
3. Going for egg sandwiches (2 eggs, one cup oil, a few pieces of onion, and a squirt of mayo) and a cup of coffee (1/3 cup Nescafe, 2/3 cup sweetened condensed milk) on Sunday mornings
4. Knowing 75% of the people who pass by while I am eating my egg sandwich on Sunday morning
5. My friends and colleagues
6. Florida Fridays with the other NGO workers
7. Pasta Saturdays
8. Weekend afternoons at Cash bar with the WFP drivers to watch football and drink cold ones
9. Eating donuts or bread with mayo for breakfast everyday. And not feeling bad about it
10. Watching bad reality TV with my housemate after a long day at work
11. Sitting outside with Ruthia on Saturday afternoons, reading a book, drinking pineapple juice and eating popcorn
12. Walking to work in the morning with all the cute (and sometimes utterly annoying) little kids on their way to school
13. Walking to Ruthia’s in the mid-day sun
14. Market shopping with friends on the weekend
15. Bargaining for everything
16. BBC news and Network Africa from 7-8 am
17. West African music on cassette tapes, repeated for hours on end while in the vehicle
18. The sky, scenery, and the smell of the jungle. Palm trees, sunrises and sunsets. Storm clouds, thunder, lightening and rain.
19. Driving through the mud. Its like being at Hershey Park and riding on the Comet in a bumper car
20. Standing out in a crowd
21. Taking pictures of weird things
22. The full moon
23. Being congratulated for gaining weight
24. Having a personal tailor
25. Buying random food items in small plastic bags

Top 25 things I can’t wait to get home to (in no particular order)…
1. A HUGE deli sandwich, with a bowl of chowder and potato chips
2. Family and friends
3. Wearing socks (I haven’t worn a pair since July)
4. A real pillow: one not made of cut up pieces of foam stuffed it into a pillow case
5. REAL coffee. Brewed. With unlimited refills
6. A different outfit (I’ve been wearing the same 5-6 outfits for 5 months)
7. A comfortable couch, bed, and chair
8. Convenience
9. Diner breakfasts
10. Fruit. In any form: fresh fruit, fruit juice, fruit salad
11. Not wearing flip flops in the shower
12. Hot running water
13. Paved roads
14. Fast internet
15. Drinking tap water
16. Beer on tap and wine
17. Sleeping without the sound of a generator running (imagine a lawn mower outside of your window all night)
18. Blending in
19. Sidewalk cafes
20. 24-hour electricity
21. Ice cubes
22. Traffic patterns that make sense
23. Working out and going to the gym
24. Fountain soda
25. A washer and dryer

1 comment:

  1. I think number 3 would have broken me! (ok, the rain, the food, and everything else would have been deal breakers as well)

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